Why do people feel the need to have the highest end of technology?

[jack58]

No one remembers Maxwell Smart's 'shoe phone' in the famous Don Adams series, Get Smart which was the first to feature a mobile phone in a TV series, albeit exaggerated.

OK then, how about the comic detective character, Dick Tracy and his "Smart Watch" from October 4, 1931 debut. On January 13, 1946, The 2-Way Wrist Radio, worn as a wristwatch by Tracy and members of the police force, became one of the strip's most immediately recognizable icons, and may have informed later smartwatches. The 2-Way Wrist Radio was upgraded to a 2-Way Wrist TV in 1964.

 

[MoodyBlues]

No one remembers Maxwell Smart's 'shoe phone' in the famous Don Adams series, Get Smart which was the first to feature a mobile phone in a TV series, albeit exaggerated.

:hello: I do, I do! :hello:

And how 'bout other futuristic things on '60s shows, like wristwatch phones--where you could see the person you're talking to?

 

[sfbloodbrother]

:hello: I do, I do! :hello:

And how 'bout other futuristic things on '60s shows, like wristwatch phones--where you could see the person you're talking to?

Now that we are there it isn't as cool as we thought it would be.

 

[jack58]

Now that we are there it isn't as cool as we thought it would be.

I disagree...

 

[MoodyBlues]

Now that we are there it isn't as cool as we thought it would be.

I disagree...

Me too. I'm in a continual state of awe as I see things become reality that could only be dreamed about not too long ago. I actually discuss this kind of stuff with people in my life whom I've known for 40+ years. It's like, "do you remember when we had to MAIL PHOTOGRAPHS to someone if we wanted to share them?" or "could you have even IMAGINED that we'd be talking on CORDLESS phones--let alone CELL PHONES?!" or "remember when we only had 20-something channels to choose from--and now we have hundreds!" Yep, I'm in awe, and don't see that ending any time soon.

 

[mikedt]

I feel like I'm using the highest technology when I ride my iBike.

 

[Techlord]

LOL for the longest time(pre iPhone) I wanted a PDA type handheld that would let me connect to the internet and let me take pictures, play music and games. I knew I would need better tech than what "high tech" back in the late nineties to enjoy such a thing. As much as I dislike apple I give them credit for popularizing handheld phones with WiFi. That was a big game changer.

 

[Techlord]

That's the beauty of technology and science. Something highend today will look like a kids toy in 20 years. It takes time but we ultimately "unlock" and unravel new unknown tech every year. I envy the future generations. They will experience even MORE AWESOME technology. Plus add Moore's law to the equation and better tech will only come faster than it used to.

 

[jack58]

LOL for the longest time(pre iPhone) I wanted a PDA type handheld that would let me connect to the internet and let me take pictures, play music and games. I knew I would need better tech than what "high tech" back in the late nineties to enjoy such a thing. As much as I dislike apple I give them credit for popularizing handheld phones with WiFi. That was a big game changer.

I have the latest and greatest 3D HDTV, Samsung Notebook, Galaxy S5 and love all three of them. Fascinating stuff that I never get tired of.

Absolutely amazing how far it has come since 1985 when I got my first notebook and desktop, was still using a landmine phone and thought a 25" TV was big.

Of course I can remember no computers, dial phones and 15" TV's from the 50/60's too. Freaking amazing. What is it gonna be like in 10 more years? Any ideas?

 

[MoodyBlues]

I love technology and never get tired of seeing what comes next. But I also love vintage stuff. My house is an eclectic mix of old and new--laptops here, vintage phones there...

 

[Techlord]

Technology can be unpredictable. 15 years ago flip phones were the big thing. I remember playing "snake" on my flip phone without color. But it still wowed me back than LOL. In 10 years I see "smart glasses and watches" being big. Than virtual reality might become more of a focus of big companies. Maybe a compact version of Oculus rift will come included with next gen consoles.

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I think the concept of google glass will wow more people in the future than the rift.

 

[Hadron]

10 years ago:
Desktop and small (12") Dell laptop for travel, both running Linux. Family PC running Windows XP (quite new at the time).
Phone was an Ericsson T68 (not Sony Ericsson, it predated the merger), supplemented by a Palm Vx for PDA functionality.

20 years ago:
No laptop. X-terminal connected to HP-UX workstations (PC hardware not powerful enough to be useful at work). Family computer was a 486/66, the most expensive home computer I ever bought even ignoring inflation (decided not to spring for the new "Pentium" processor, which turned out to have a bug anyway).
Phone was a Nokia 8140:

Single band, voice calls and SMS, and the battery would last a day in standby if you didn't actually use it
No PDA, and as I never got on with paper diaries I relied entirely on memory for organisation.

30 years ago:
No personal computer, but I had just spent the summer working on DEC VAX systems. My first encounter with IBM JCL was just over a year in the future

 

[sfbloodbrother]

I feel like I don't belong. So young.. Me

Started using computers for real and learned about them when I was like 14.

Now I'm 19

So...
Had an iPhone that could do just about everything that I wanted it to do. Could get online without needing to be at home. That's as young as I remember.

No lie.

I used them old apple books and I macs back in the day. Worst and slowest computer I have ever used. Hence the reason I don't like Mac these days.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I feel like I don't belong. So young.. Me

No worries--we won't hold your youth against you!

Now I'm 19

Ah, yes...I remember 19...1919, that is! :laugh:

 

[nickdalzell]

Dick Tracy's 'smartwatch' (all it was was a dumb watch with a two-way communicator, much like Michael Knight's, which in the end was not all that impressive) pales in comparison to the one used in the series Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot.

Then there is George Jetson's talking round watch, which is about as close to the Motorola 360 smartwatch as you'll get from the '60s.

I still rocked one of these in 2009, during my 'technophobe' phase. it only got replaced when my boss at work got tired of hitting the voice mail because my battery would go 'recharge battery' and shut the phone down when he called. it barely had the power to text and my boss wasn't into texting yet.



This is the uber-cool phone i had that a pet deer ruined. it also had the most odd failure due to moisture. calling people in my contacts at random, and getting calls from angry friends that i 'called and hung up'. it got replaced when it accidentally phoned 911 via emergency 9 at random and got me into trouble.



What kinda creeps me out is that some old tech lover somewhere probably has re-assembled one of these for the pure joy of reliving the old days. there's already YouTube videos of someone having reconstructed a PdP-8 mainframe complete with its teletype...Though i'm not so sure what kind of practical purpose there is in doing so, other than the stare into the awe of blinking lights and miss the sound of dot matrix printers.

 

[jack58]

Dick Tracy's 'smartwatch' (all it was was a dumb watch with a two-way communicator, much like Michael Knight's, which in the end was not all that impressive) pales in comparison to the one used in the series Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot.

Really? I never heard of Johnny Sokko.
Dick Tracy was very popular.

 

[Blackflag4]

The funniest thing about tech is its always evolving to fit the needs of (X).
Most of the time we have the tech developed, but it doesn't hit the market for decades because some military force somewhere hasn't decided if it's release will cause conflict with their working tech, or if it mimics current military tech too closely and can be countered, or used against them in some way.

Hell, half of what's out there now has already been made available to world militaries for years. Some countries won't even allow certain tech items to be shipped anywhere with in their borders unless it's been modified or dumbed down. For instance, the PlayStation 3 was originally designed for speed and power, and a couple of companies we're working on the processor that was supposed to be used in it. After testing, a few markets considered the processor to be to powerful for its intended purpose and the project was changed to use a slower version of the processor.

 

[GreenTea]

Funny the Jetsons gets mentioned. I didn't watch the cartoon so I have no frame of reference, but when my dad first saw my Gear 2 and I showed him what it could do, he said it reminded him of George Jetson's talking watch. He never really used computers and he is still using a dumb/flip/feature phone so he never really followed the evolution of these "smart" devices, so he was absolutely amazed when I asked the S voice "How far is it from Miami, FL to Denver, CO?" and the watch replied, "1720 miles."

He still maintains that he has no need for such devices, though.

 

[JesseBanks]

I like this thread so I will add my experience with all the stuff I have...I used to buy all the latest stuff until I realized that it was breaking my pockets because I just had to have the latest iPod...laptop...cellphone until something wonderful happened to me to make me maximize my knowledge of what I need instead of what I want...I got laid off from my job and went from 17.50 an hour to now making 10 where I'm at now

I sold everything back in 08 because I needed to pay my rent and car insurance and little by little bought what I have now

I had a mac now I have a 2006 dell d610 laptop for 40$ and I learned Linux and I have no problems currently running on zorin OS and it even looks like a mac

Once my T-Mobile contract ended I had the 1st Google phone when it was released...I switched to metro PCS and their mid range phones actually work for me...cheap and I have rooted all of them to maximize what I want out of them

I bought a nexus 7 tablet 2012 for 40$ on craigslist back in november in good condition rooted...works for me

Bluetooth Auvio speakers 10$ from the thrift shop...scared they wouldn't work I took a chance and they sound beautifully

I am an audiofile so I always have an MP3 player...I bought a sandisk mp3 player on amazon for 15$ and bought a 32g SD card from radio shack on sale for 20$...bought 2 for my phone and mp3 player

The MP3 player I jailbroke and installed rockbox and let me tell you that the sound on that little thing is better than any iPod I have ever had

My latest purchase caught me by surprise...I'm from a rough city and sometimes you find stuff from people that unfortunately want money to buy other things if you know what I mean...I bought Dr. Dre HD solo headphones for 25$...not fakes...100% original...good condition

So really you don't need all the latest stuff...you need what works for you...my friend likes all that to show off but dude don't even know how to use them properly lol

 

[nickdalzell]

George Jetson's watch is essentially the 60s Moto 360. I know, I know, he doesn't say 'OK Google' but he essentially asked it things which you'd ask an Android Wear device. The only difference was it did talk back. The word 'Google' was even spoken in the show

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=J7xSWwfSw0U

Jonny Sokko was a lesser known 60s show. Although Harry Morgan did play a role in it. It was like an early Voltron. The main character was a child named Jonny and he called the robot in during tough battles through the watch, which had no display, just a round mess of electronics. The watch also had a laser.

The show is also on YouTube. The parts where he used the watch also played roles in Samsung's own ads for the Galaxy Gear.

 

[Peter Fram]

To answer the question quickly? Some of us are forced by the vendors themselves, because the OS's and apps become outdated. As an example, I strongly resisted having a smartphone until I have been given an old Samsung GT5830. I like some of it's functions but there is one major problem. The OS is not upgradable, on some occasions I cannot run any google updates, because it's complaing my browser it out of date, etc. It's the "out of date" and "being unable to upgrade" forced upon us my the like of Google, MS and others.
With all the old computers I have at home Linux is the only option and I also collect every free outdated laptop my company throws to the bin. Linux keeps me going and up to date. Forget Windows and MS who are the main culprits forcing all those upgrades to occur. It's staggering how much and how quickly computers are considered expired in companies. That includes OS versions of every type.

As for my new gadget? It's old but as long as it works I'll keep it. I only use it as a pay-as-you-go phone and to connect at home to my WI-FI when my computers are switched off. It does the job, that's it. When I look at the priced people play on a monthly basis for having a fully equiped device I doubt there is any sense in that. Although I just looked up a rather good option for paying for a network connection on the go when I need it, check this:
https: / / www <dot> giffgaff <dot> com/goodybags/10pound-goodybag
No need to pay a hefty fee every month.

Pete

 

[jack58]

OK, you guys are making me feel guilty about having the latest and greatest

I guess I'll take my latest and greatest S7 Edge back and keep using my 15 year old Nokia or if that don't fire up, then my Blackjack II that still works just fine...

and take my new Dell XPS back and keep using my 1985 Tandy 600 notebook.

Yup, both my 1985 desktop and notebook still work too

I bet many of you weren't born yet! LOL

 

[tube517]

Only saw this thread today. I don't buy latest and greatest due to budget restrictions but I admit I would probably buy an LG G4. Not the latest and greatest but still a good phone. I have an LG G Stylo which is definitely in the "budget" phone class but a solid phone. No lag and no complaints. Rooted, of course.

Desktop is a 2008 iMac with the latest OS. Forgot the name of the OS. Not an Apple fan. I fell for the koolaid. Still works okay. Have to clear cache regularly. My phone may have better specs lol.

Laptop is an Asus I got for $300 from Best Buy in 2012. Has Windows 10 and still is going strong.

 

[AZgl1500]

I have ignored this thread forever, but ran out of other stuff to read, so decided to join the fray....

@jack58 brought back a LOT of memories for me, I have used nearly all of those toys he showed up.... no Dictaphones for me, but I helped people learn how to use them. Does that count?

Remember the Tandy Radio Shack keyboard computer that used a BW TV for a monitor and a 300 baud audio tape as the backup device? I learned Basic on that thing.... and then evolved all the other stuff.